Many have asked what our neighbours think of these crazy
lights. Well, so far, the response from the
neighbourhood has been entirely positive, with the unfortunate and
sole exception of  one of the newest
neighbours. This family has not taken well to the
lights and appears to feel that we stage this show to make its life
miserable. In each of the last two years, this neighbour has
delivered a rambling letter of complaint, listing a litany of
issues. While some points may have some validity, the
letters are replete with gross inaccuracies and
 exaggeration. We are not combative by
nature so, in spite of the unpleasant and offensive language used
in the letters, we have taken steps to try to assuage this
neighbour’s concerns.Â
What we have done to date includes:
- shortened the hours of the display, on weeknights;
- shortened the overall length of the display from 5 weeks to 4
weeks;
- shortened the show from 6 minutes;
- provided signs that ask not to block driveways (which work 90% of
the time);
- requested visitors keep radio volume down, (via our FM radio
broadcast) and not litter;
- provided police traffic patrol in front of their driveway –
at a cost of over $300 per night;
- cleaned up what little garbage there is from the street,
daily;
- roped off  neighbouring yards to foot traffic;
- had friends and family help direct traffic around Xmas.
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Our immediate neighbours have been very supportive.Â
This year, we have expanded the display to the property of one of
them, at their request. This
neighbour’s family not only provide moral
support, but also drop by with hot chocolate and beer during those
15 hour days of working in the cold. Other neighbours have offered
to help with the display and to direct traffic. In
fact, everyone with whom we have contact, (except the neighbour
already noted), continues to urge us to put on another display!
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With the increased popularity of the show, it has become more
stressful and challenging for us to pull off each
year. Together with this, the complaining neighbour
and the burgeoning traffic, (and lack of community support to
assist in directing traffic), we almost had no display this
season. However, thanks to support and encouragement
from friends, neighbours, local community groups and members of the
town council, we decided to go for one more year.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to get
York Regional Police to assist with traffic control, but ended up
going in circles. The final word
is…â€They’ll be
glad to help out – for $300 per
nightâ€. This is not what I was hoping for,
so we will be compelled to fund this from collected donations,
which reduces the amount available for the
charities.Â
Last season we spent close to $3000Â to have one
police officer assist us in directing traffic, for a period of 8
nights. Until then, 100% of the collected donation
money went to local charities. However, we were forced
to make a decision to either shut down the display, or withdraw
money from the collected donations to pay for nightly traffic
control. As I did last year, I have urged our town
councilor to press for police support with the traffic, but again
have been unable to reach satisfactory conclusion, although she is
otherwise very supportive of our efforts. I must also
give thanks to the police department for making regular, nightly
visits, making sure everything is ok.
This year will be a decision maker as to whether the display
will continue at 4 Rosea in future years. We can no
longer do this alone and need help from the community to make it
work. Â I have put a request out to local high schools,
looking for volunteers to help keep traffic flowing.Â
High school students require a certain amount of volunteer work in
order to graduate and I have confirmed with Thornlea Secondary
School that we can grant these hours to any students wishing to
partake. Our biggest problem is the sheer volume of traffic in such
a short period of time. Wait times last season were up
to 45 minutes, around Christmas Eve.
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We thank everyone who has supported us, including those who have
helped setup, to everyone who has emailed, thanking us for making
their holiday season brighter and showing their appreciation for
the work involved. A very special thanks to my parents
who allow us to do this and store tons (literally) of lights,
extension cords, controllers, etc. at their home.
Â
Our display demands an incredible work effort and I know that
most appreciate the result. To those who have
offhandedly commented that we “have too much
time on our handsâ€, let me just say that my brother and
I have 40 hour work-week “real†jobs
and spend all our spare time in November/December/January making
this work. We take vacation days off work, sacrifice
time-out with friends and put a complete hold on social
life. All personal projects are put in abeyance,
including even Christmas shopping.
We owe thanks to the sponsors who have supported us and have helped
make the show what it is. It’s
amazing how expensive this can become and, without their
assistance, we would not be able to afford a display of this
magnitude.
Â
This season, the weather has given us everything from rain to
snow to high winds, etc. We’ve been working in
sub zero temperatures with wind chills down to -18
degrees and snow almost 6 inches deep.Â
It’s been a battle getting the roof lights in
place and working, as well as the grass grids. We had
to snow-blow snow off the grass and drill holes in the ground to
implant over 2,000 light stakes (the ground was
frozen). It has been challenging, but we made it
work!
Â
The lights went on December
8th, and the new sequence
was launched a week later. We
cannot program before the lights are assembled, because we never
know how many lights we’ll be able to get in
place. At least we know that our efforts will bring
joy and happiness, to (almost!) everyone. Â We
wish everyone Happy Holidays!
Martin Lindsay
She could bite me any day of the week…